“People of African descent are being left behind”: Experts call on development and financial institutions to increase their efforts to combat racism in implementing the International Decade for People of African Descent

The Working Group of experts on people of African descent met with development institutions in New York from 2-3 November 2016. It also met with financial institutions in Washington 27-28 June 2016.

The Working Group welcomes the different initiatives of development and financial institutions to end poverty. They help uplift the lives of people of African descent. However the Working Group notes that many of these initiatives were not developed with people of African descent in mind as a specific victim group.

We recall the Third World Conference on Racism in 2001, and call for implementation of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA) which provides a framework for combatting racism. As pointed out in the DDPA, people of African descent experience specific forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, Afrophobia and particular violations of their human rights in large part due to the continuing effects of the legacy of the slave trade and slavery. We note how past historical injustices help to explain the current racial tensions happening all over the world.

Ricardo Sunga, Chair of the Working Group, welcomed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) and its central message of “leaving no one behind” and to combat discrimination. Sunga underlined that ‘People of African descent are being left behind. We call for a deeper appreciation of the human rights situation of people of African descent. We express hope for a heightened sensitivity on the part of development and financial institutions and greater focus in their programmes on people of African descent.  We encourage all stakeholders to ensure that SDG based policies and development plans promote and protect the human rights of people of African descent.'

The Working Group recommends that development programmes intended for people of African descent, should be developed in collaboration with people of African descent themselves, allocating additional investments to health systems, education, housing, electricity, drinking water and environmental control measures and promoting equal opportunities in employment, as well as other affirmative or positive measures and strategies within the human rights framework.

They also recommend the greater use of and reference to the language of the DDPA, the International Decade for People of African Descent, as well as international human rights standards and the right to development, in the work of development and financial institutions.

The Working Group calls for the effective implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent and its Program of Activities. It has been proclaimed officially by the UN and is now on its second year.

Michal Balcerzak, a member of the Working Group, stresses that the human rights concerns people of African descent face are present all over the world. ‘We are concerned about the thinking that these concerns are not relevant in some countries. People of African descent are invisible, there is a lack of data on the descendants of the enslaved, asylum seekers, migrants and students, and no country is exempt from racism. We recommend the collection of data disaggregated along ethnic lines on the basis of voluntary self-identification to identify the most marginalized groups and address gaps.’

ENDS

The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent was established on 25 April 2002 by the then Commission on Human Rights, following the World Conference against Racism held in Durban in 2001. It is composed of five independent experts:  Mr. Ricardo A. Sunga III (the Philippines), current Chair-Rapporteur; Mr. Michal Balcerzak (Poland); Ms. Mireille Fanon Mendes-France (France), Mr. Sabelo Gumedze (South Africa) and Mr. Ahmed Reid (Jamaica). . Learn more, log on to:  http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/WGAfricanDescent/Pages/WGEPADIndex.aspx

The Working Group is part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.

For inquiries and media requests, please contact Ms. Christina Saunders (+41 22 9289197 / csaunders@ohchr.org), Mr. Niraj Dawadi (+41 22 928 9151 / ndawadi@ohchr.org) or write to africandescent@ohchr.org